School, water funding top Texas Legislature's list

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders on Wednesday outlined the priorities for this year’s session after Tuesday’s opening-day ceremonies for the 83rd Texas Legislature.

Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus said the Legislature intends to address the growing demands of the state’s infrastructure, strengthening public education, securing reliable supplies of water and providing tax relief for Texas.

“The lieutenant governor, (the) speaker and I are united in our vision and goals for this session, and we’ll work together to produce a transparent, fiscally conservative budget that meets the needs of Texans and restrains spending,” Perry said as he, Dewhurst — the presiding officer of the Texas Senate — and Straus held a joint news conference.

“In Texas, we know that money does the most good in the hands of those who earned it,” Perry added. “By sticking to the conservative fiscal policies that have made Texas a beacon for job creation and business growth, we will continue to enable employers of all sizes to succeed.”

However, as it happened on Tuesday when the Legislature was back in session, there were no details on how to address those needs. Despite saying that they are working as a team, some differences of opinion became clear.

Straus for example, had previously indicated he would like for the Legislature to restore some of the funding cuts to public education made in the 2011 session when the lawmakers tackled a $27 billion shortfall.

But, while answering a question, Perry said school funding has been more than adequate over the last decade.

“We’ve had public education funding growing at three times the public education enrollment,” the governor said.

School funding increased 70 percent from 2002 through 2012 while enrollment growth was 23 percent during the same period, he said.

Therefore, “I think under any scenario over the last decade, the funding that we have seen in the state of Texas for public education has been pretty phenomenal,” Perry said.

Also asked if he agreed with Dewhurst’s recommendation that the legislature should withdraw $1 billion from the state’s savings account — better known as the Rainy Day Fund — to start funding a $53 billion state water plan, Perry didn’t give a clear answer.

“I agree with the lieutenant governor that water is going to be a focus in this legislature,” he said.

Although Perry fielded most of the questions, Dewhurst and Straus also talked about some of the issues their respective chambers intend to tackle.

On school funding, for example, “people keep coming with a number on public education, asking are we going to fund this or that?” Dewhurst said. “All I can tell you, at the end of the day we are going to be putting more resources into public education.”

And Straus said: “We also know that we have some unfinished business from the last session,” apparently in reference to the massive funding cuts.

In addition to a $5.4 billion cut to public education funding, the lawmakers cut $4.3 billion from the Medicaid program.

In West Texas and throughout the state, the across-the-board cuts resulted in massive layoffs of state employees, especially of teachers and other school employees, as well as in reductions of services.

The massive funding cuts and related problems are part of the reason more than half of the 1,029 school districts in the state are suing the state.

Those school districts and other plaintiffs in the suit, filed in a state court in Austin, allege that for years the Legislature has failed to adequately fund the public system, as required by the Texas Constitution.

Rep. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said he was not surprised by the legislative issues the governor, Dewhurst and Straus consider priorities.

“It looks a lot like the last session, education, Medicaid entitlement, transportation and now we’ve got water,” Perry said in an interview. “I do agree it’s time for the state to get serious about water.”

Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, agreed now is the time to start addressing the state’s water needs.

“The water issue is extremely important to West Texas,” Smithee said in a separate interview.

“The comprehensive plan is very important so that the Metroplex (has) its own water supply so it doesn’t depend on water from the Panhandle,” Smithee said in reference to the 50-year water plan the Texas Water Development Board unveiled last year.